"Artista. Intelecto. Periodista guerrero..."
I once used those words to describe Mr. Carlos Quiroz, publisher of Carlos In DC, who was the first blogger of Latin American (Peruvian and Italian) heritage to encourage my work, ..and I, a proud grandson of Mexican and Tejano migrant workers, was honored by that. His seemingly inexhaustible dedication to justice and truth and his in-depth investigative reporting on local issues -labor, immigration, racial discrimination, unemployment and gentrification- has shown all of us lesser bloggers (myself included) how consistently powerful this medium can be.
Not so long ago, when I suspended publication of this blog for a time, I reached out to Carlos, who, with no concern of competition between us, encouraged me to keep the blog online and shared his news resources with me, that my work should be as well informed as his. It reminded me that, empowering the people with relevant information about the world around them, ..and NOT some silly compettition between bloggers, ..must always be our primary mission.
That insight, the gift of Carlos Quiroz's work, is what keeps me in the game.
After a lengthy stretch on the Wordpress network, he eventually came back, ..right here, to Blogger. Though he has tirelessly championed the causes of struggling peoples in the Washington area and abroad, (and not just in Latin America, but, all over the world) with modest resources and in some measure of obscurity -of darkness- to call 'Carlos In DC' a mere blog seems, to me, a great understatement. To call Mr. Quiroz a mere journalist seems equally insufficient.
Now, Quiroz, himself, has become the subject of his latest journalistic venture, as he chronicles the complex reality of transitioning from life, as a man, ..into his new life, as a woman. Give 'Carlos In DC' a look, if you haven't already.
Mel Dyer
[Second Edition]
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